The 57-year-old businessman from Spring Garden Township referred to whoever sent out the documents as 'very cowardly.'

By ED MAHON

Daily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
09/17/2013 09:17:53 PM EDT

Scott Wagner (SUBMITTED)

Before Scott Wagner announced he was running for a state Senate seat, someone anonymously sent out court documents outlining some aspects of the candidate's dealings with a temporary protection-from-abuse order and child support.

Chairmen of the local Republican and Democratic parties, state lawmakers, some York County judges, reporters and others were listed as recipients, although it is not clear how many of them actually received the documents.

"Thought these items would be of interest to you," the unsigned letter read.

Wagner, a 57-year-old businessman from Spring Garden Township, referred to whoever sent out the documents as "very cowardly."

"There is an attempt by someone out there to trash me," Wagner said during an interview at a Penn Waste Inc. office in East Manchester Township Tuesday.

Wagner, the primary owner and founder of Penn Waste, said last week that he is seeking the Republican nomination in the 2014 primary to replace outgoing state Sen. Mike Waugh, R-Shrewsbury Township. He declined to speculate on who sent the documents.

Although some others have expressed interest in the seat, no one but Wagner has formally announced and committed to running.

The anonymous documents don't tell the whole story in the cases.

Here's a look at the documents involved, what additional court documents show and Wagner's responses:

Protection from abuse petition

Katharine Wagner, one of Wagner's daughters, requested a protection-from-abuse order on June 2, 2006, according to court documents.

In the petition, she said that on May 31, 2006, at about 7 p.m., Scott Wagner came to her grandparents' home, where she was staying. She said that her father put both his hands around her neck, squeezed and shook her to the point where she was having trouble breathing.

She also alleged that when Scott Wagner let go of her neck, he quickly grabbed both of her wrists, holding them together and pushing her up against a kitchen counter. She said in the petition that her back was hurt because of that, and she missed two days of work.

The documents sent out anonymously didn't include the following action in the case:

A temporary protection from abuse order was granted, but a judge dismissed it a little more than a week later when the plaintiff did not appear for a hearing, according to court documents.

Katharine Wagner said on Tuesday she was 18 at the time.

"All I'll say is, at the time, I was making some poor decisions," she said. "And I have a child of my own now, and I can understand why it reached the level it did."

She said she has worked for her father the past seven years. She's also helping with her father's campaign.

"We have a great relationship now," she said.

Scott Wagner said on Tuesday that his daughter had been involved in an accident before the May 31, 2006, incident. He said she was taken to a hospital. And he showed a picture of her from that time, which he described as her on a ventilator and "fighting for her life."

Scott Wagner said she was released a couple of days later and was staying at her grandparents' home.

"I went over and tried to encourage her to seek some counseling. ...We got into a heated argument," Scott Wagner said.

He disputes details in the protection from abuse petition, but he declined to recount in detail what happened that evening.

"It was a very heated argument. ... Yeah, there was touching involved. But ... some of the touching involved is inaccurate," he said.

"It's seven years ago," he added. "It's a dead issue."

In the 2006 petition, Katharine Wagner said police spoke with Scott Wagner.

He said Tuesday no charges were filed.

Dispute over money

Another set of documents involves a 2012 decision by Dauphin County Judge Jeannine Turgeon involving his now-ex-wife Silvia Wagner seeking child support and temporary alimony from Scott Wagner.

The couple were married in August 1991, according to the judge's opinion accompanying the order. They have one daughter together, Cristina, who was born in December 1992.

During the marriage, Scott Wagner also adopted the wife's child from her previous marriage, according to court documents. Katharine Wagner is his daughter from another marriage.

The couple separated in May 2008.

The judge described the dispute over child support and temporary alimony as an "economically complex matter," where the main issue was determining the husband's "income for the purposes of calculating his support obligations."

The documents that were sent anonymously highlight parts suggesting Wagner owed hundreds of thousands in child support and temporary alimony. The 2012 opinion said Wagner's total "arrearage is approximately $800,000."

The opinion notes that the figure includes a $300,000 credit that the parties agreed to grant Scott Wagner on Aug. 29, 2011, but the opinion also states the figure did not include any other credits that might exist for direct payments made under an initial order of Oct. 8, 2008.

John J. Connelly Jr., Scott Wagner's attorney in the case, said Scott Wagner began making voluntary payments from the time the separation began in May 2008.

Court documents also show Wagner made payments as the legal proceeding was ongoing. The amount he was ordered to pay through interim orders changed during the process. Arrearage was determined retroactively, not because of missed payments, Connelly said.

"He paid every payment on time," Connelly said. "...And at the end of the line, when the case was concluded, he received a credit that wiped out all arrears. And we settled the matter as part of a property settlement agreement."

That 2012 order for payments was terminated in July effective June 28, 2012, because the parties reached a settlement of all issues including temporary alimony, arrears and child support arrears.

A divorce decree was granted July 4, 2012.

Connelly said the process that happened in Scott Wagner's case is similar to other ones with large amounts of money involved.

Connelly said both sides never ultimately agreed to a total sum that was owed but settled the case. He said both sides agreed to confidentiality conditions as part of the settlement agreement, which prevent him from describing details.

The attorney for Silvia Wagner in the case, John C. Howett Jr., was unavailable for comment, an official with his office said.

Attempts to reach Silvia Wagner directly were unsuccessful.

About the campaign

Scott Wagner on Tuesday said he did not think the disputes and documents should matter to voters.

"This is all about trashing someone and dirty politics. ... And I'm not going to engage in this, honestly," he said.

He said his campaign is going to focus on economic issues and jobs.

He said the state has crumbling bridges and crumbling roads, and York County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the state.

He said York County has lost a lot of good manufacturing jobs, which are being replaced by jobs that pay less.

"I'm a businessman that has created jobs. I've created thousands of jobs over the last 30 years," he said. "...If everybody's happy (with) Harrisburg, you know, believe whatever is said about me, and just vote for the same old people."

What political figures had to say

The list of recipients of the anonymous documents about Scott Wagner included Bob Wilson, chairman of the York County Republican Committee; state Rep. Ron Miller, R-Jacobus; York County President Commissioner Steve Chronister; and Bob Kefauver, chairman of the Democratic Party of York County.

Wilson, Miller and Chronister all said they received them.

Kefauver said he had heard talk about the documents but that he did not receive them.

All four said they didn't know who sent them.

Here's what else the three Republicans had to say:

· Wilson said he doesn't condone sending out the documents. But he said it's part of the political process.

"It's just what happens. There are always going to be other individuals who dig into somebody's past and try to find those things that may persuade the voters in some way," Wilson said.

· Miller said he didn't know whether the documents would matter to voters.

"As public figures, you basically live in a fishbowl," he said. "So whether or not that becomes something that the public gets involved with, I don't know."

Miller has said he's considering running for state Senate for 2014, but he said he isn't ready to announce anything.

"For years, the conventional wisdom was you didn't start the next campaign until the November general election was complete," Miller said.

· Chronister said he threw away the documents about Wagner when he received them.

"What he's doing with his personal life, I think is his business," Chronister said. "If the voters want to look at it differently, that's up to them."

He also called Wagner a "good-hearted person."

About Wagner

Scott Wagner, 57, of Spring Garden Township, founded Penn Waste Inc. in 2000, according to information from his state Senate campaign.

The company has more than 350 employees with a fleet of more than 100 trucks, according to the campaign. He purchased KBS Inc., a trucking company, in 2005, and it employs 75 people and has a fleet of 70 trucks.

He has contributed to political campaigns in the past, but this is his first time running for public office.

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